Throwing knife "ondo" - Mbugbu/Banda - DR Congo

Banda throwing knife "ondo"\nCongo, DR Congo\nMax height: 42 cm\nPeriod: early 20th century\nMaterials: wrought iron, antelope leather\nProvenance: formerly from a Belgian private collection\n\nThe 19th century, marked by turmoil, long migrations and inter-tribal wars, led to the dispersion of the Banda, formerly united, over a wide geographic area, divided into small independent populations speaking about fifty distinct dialects. Likewise, Banda weapons display a wide diversity of styles, often radically diverging from the traditional aesthetic.\n\nBanda knives were historically reserved for military use (to stop the advance of an enemy force, for example), but their function evolved after the 1920s to include peaceful and spiritual objectives, such as instruments of ritual dance. This metamorphosis is the combined result of the decline of conflicts in the 20th century and the Banda people’s persistent affective bond with their knives (Westerdijk, The African Throwing Knife, 1988).\n\nWhile some researchers use the presence of an ear, as here (the small pointed protuberance between the two upper blades) to delineate Banda knives of the east from Banda knives of the west, other researchers have documented knives with an ear originating from groups in the central-southern Banda territories, namely the Mbugbu (Felix, Kipinga, 1991).\n\nCareful, insured shipping with tracking number